Bill Adam | A retrospective

A trip to what is now a historic race in Canada proved just the thing for a young Scottish immigrant who has since made Canada his home.

Bill Adam attended the 1961 Players 200 race, the first major event at the new road course north of Toronto known as Mosport Park. He was hooked. He collected information on racing gleaned from magazines and trips to the courses while waiting to be old enough to race cars.

In 1971 that day came, and after some novice events at Harewood Acres, Adam acquired his competition licence, along with another young racer who would also make a mark for himself, Bobby Rahal.

Adam started racing Corvettes, and got his break when he signed on with Bob Tullius and his Group 44 Racing team in 1980. Adam, a resident of Southern Ontario, started with the Truimph TR8s of Group 44, helping to win the team’s class at Mosport and Sebring of that year. He then raced a Group 44 Jaguar XJR-5 in the IMSA GTP class until 1984, ran a Porsche 962 in 1986, and then a Riley and a Scott the following year.

Adam also competed in the Rothmans Porsche Cup, with numerous wins. In 1987 he, along with fellow Canadians Richard Spenard and Scott Goodyear, raced a Porsche 962C at Le Mans, running as high as fifth at one point in the classic endurance event.

He also raced in several stock car events, including an Export A race at Mosport in 1974 and competed with the touring ASA (American Speed Association) at Cayuga Speedway in 1984.

Early in the 21st century he drove in the Porsche Supercup in the USGP, and ran a 911 at the 2003 Mont Tremblant Grand Am event.

A few years before, in 1990, Adam started his second career in motorsports as a race announcer for the television networks of ESPN, CBS, NBC, CTV, TSN, and Global. Recently, he has competed in historic sports car racing. He maintains homes in the Ontario cottage region of Muskoka, and in Florida.

Comments

Wasn’t it Bill Adam who was teamed with Al Mason in the BFGoodrich T/A Corvette that campaigned the Eastern Canadian Endurance Racing Series? I know there were only a couple of Vettes that ran that series.
The period would have been mid 1970’s — at that time the Porsches were a little more agile — however at Mosport with that long back straight things were pretty even.

Bert,
Al Mason did race the Canadian Eastern Endurance Series in his 1969 Corvette with BFG but Jacques Duval was his co driver. Bill Adam ran the same Corvette for Al in the 1976 Mosport TransAm and the 76 Canadian run offs at Tremblant.

I’m loving it — some of my brother Len’s ashes are scattered at Turn 2 — Len campaigned a Austin Healey Sprint then moved up to drive a Lola Climax which I believe was the ex-Ross de St-Croix car — it may have been owned or sponsored by Paul Muir of Muir Cartage (a fine Canadian company with 100+ year history).

I often wonder what happened to Miss Speedwell another of the Lola-Climax duo. I still have negatives stashed away somewhere from the BFG Endurance team which I travelled with for two or three season in the mid-70s

Thanks Perry: I’m semi retired now and sorting through old photos — some of these will go the CMHF. I still recall a trip to the east coast with the BFG crew and after the Moosehead –we raced to catch a stock car race with Jr Hanley and Don Beiderman banging fenders.